Morning: Horticultural topics covered will be the basics of planting fruit trees, including site selection, choice of variety and rootstock, planting best practices, tree training and pruning, fertilization and ongoing fruit tree care. (In-depth pest management will be covered in the afternoon session.) If weather permits, there will be a hands-on demonstration of planting fruit trees at Red Apple Farm.

Afternoon: One of the most challenging thing about growing your own fruit is knowing how to identify the insect pests and diseases that might afflict them. Learn the basics of pest and disease identification and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in the home orchard. Hands-on, scouting, monitoring, placement of traps, etc., will be covered.

The workshops will be partially out of doors, so please dress appropriately for potentially wet, cold, and muddy conditions. If attending both workshops, please bring a bag lunch.